


case closed

by lostariels



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Coffee Shops, F/F, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Law School, Lena Luthor Is A Mess, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 08:43:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20225032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostariels/pseuds/lostariels
Summary: When Lena finds herself struggling to figure out if the barista at the campus coffee shop she's crushing on has feelings for her too, she decides to use her Law School lecture notes to hold a mock trial to figure out how Kara really feels about her. But when her roommate finds out and ropes in the help of a few more people, it spirals out of control.





	case closed

There were hearts this time. 

She stared down at her name written on the side of her coffee cup, the loopy way the barista wrote the _‘L’ _and the little love hearts on either side, and Lena felt a warm flutter in her stomach. Every day she went to the same coffee shop and was served by the cute blonde with the glasses, the lopsided name badge pinned to her apron reading _Kara_, and every day Lena came away with a black coffee, her name written in the flowing handwriting, and some adornment of stars or flowers or smiley faces hastily drawn on them too. 

But today there were hearts. 

Before she hurried out into the early morning, Lena glanced back over her shoulder and watched as the barista, Kara, gave her a small wave and a warm smile, and Lena quickly turned back around, her cheeks turning pink as she got flustered at being caught. 

Coffee in hand and her satchel slung over one shoulder, Lena hurried across campus, on her way to her Advanced Clinical Practice class. She sipped at the bitter coffee, a slight frown gracing her face as she walked up the path to the old brick building, the perfectly trimmed grass stretching out on either side and the bare trees standing like sentinels as she made for the towering front doors. Slipping inside, the warmth washing over her as she escaped the wind, Lena couldn’t help but think about the barista, heels clicking on the tiled floor as she thought about the blonde curls and soft smile, the sunny personality and her warm voice. 

She knew her of course. Her roommate, Sam, was friends with Kara’s older sister, and that was how Lena had met Kara. They weren’t friends though, or much of anything. One day Lena had been with Sam and Alex, and they’d gone to the coffee shop Alex said her sister worked at and Lena had been completely enamoured by the blonde woman. Since then, she had made it a habit to go completely out of her way to go to that coffee shop every single time she was buying coffee. 

It was endlessly frustrating to her to not know what Kara’s kindness meant though because Lena had noticed that she never drew patterns on _other_ people's cups, so it had to mean something though? But did it mean _‘hey I vaguely know you because my sister is friends with your roommate’ _or was it a small attempt at flirting, the same way that Lena had been showing up at that coffee shop every day for the past few months, hoping that Kara would take the hint that she was there for her.

Feeling confused, Lena made her way towards the airy lecture hall and took a seat in her usual spot near the back. The lecture dragged by and she paid little attention to her professor droning on at the front of the hall, too busy rolling the now empty coffee cup between her palms, staring at the sleeve with her name and the hearts. It wasn’t like Lena had deluded herself into thinking that they knew each other well enough to have feelings for each other, but Lena would be lying if she said she _wasn’t _infatuated with Kara. It was hard not to be when she smiled and made Lena’s heart race and her palms clammy.

Thankfully, it was Lena’s last class for the day, and as soon as the professor dismissed them, she was out of her seat and already moving quickly. She traced the hearts on the coffee cup before tossing it in the trash and made her way out of the old building, taking the long way home, which would lead her past the coffee shop on her way, and Lena secretly hoped she’d catch a glimpse of Kara on her way past. 

Books clutched in her arms, she walked quickly, hoping that the blonde was still working her shift, and was too busy trying to peer through the glare of sunlight reflecting off the coffee shop windows to notice the person slowly walking backwards towards her, scattering the crumbs of a half-eaten muffin on the paved path for the pigeons she was trying to attract. Lena bumped straight into the person, who was bent over and murmuring to the birds, tripped over her own feet and sent them both crashing to the ground, laying on top of the girl’s back with her books scattered around them. 

Softly swearing, Lena apologised as she scrambled to sit up, her eyes widening with horror as she took in the familiar blonde curls and the surprised look on her face. Of _course _it was Kara she’d bowled over right outside the place she worked while trying to catch a glimpse of her. Letting out a small cry of surprise, Lena scrambled for her books as she apologised, willing her cheeks not to flush with embarrassment.

“Oh, hey!” Kara warmly said, ignoring Lena’s apologies as she realised she knew her, slowly helping pick up Lena’s dropped books.

Her muffin lay abandoned behind her, pigeons pecking it into smithereens, but Kara seemed oblivious as she studied the cover of one of the heavy textbooks she held in her hands. Her eyes scanned the title and she looked up to give Lena a smile, pale eyebrows slightly raised.

“Law, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“That explains all the coffee you get. My other guess was medicine.”

Lena felt a warm glow in her chest at the mere idea of Kara thinking about her enough to wonder what she was studying. Handing the few books back out to Lena, who hurriedly took them and hugged them to her chest, Kara dusted off her knees and climbed to her feet, before extending a hand down to the brunette.

Surreptitiously trying to wipe her clammy hand on the thighs of her pants, Lena reached up to take the proffered hand and let Kara pull her to her feet. They stood there for a moment in awkward silence, before Lena’s eyebrows rose slightly and she dug her hand into her pocket.

“Oh! Um, sorry about your muffin,” she apologised, pulling out a crumpled bill, “here. For another one.”

Quietly laughing, eyes creasing at the corners in an endearing way that made Lena’s stomach clench, Kara reached out and gripped Lena’s wrist in her slender fingers, pushing the bill back into her hand and squeezing her fingers ever so slightly, before pulling back.

“Don’t worry about it. I get them for free at work; I was feeding it to the birds anyway,” Kara explained, glancing back over her shoulder as she buried her hands in her pocket, “and they seem pretty pleased.”

Lena let out a quiet laugh at the pigeons crowding around the mess of crumbs, cooing softly and ruffling their feathers as they shifted and writhed as one. She looked back at Kara and found her watching her with a warm look in her eyes, a kind smile curling the corners of her mouth, and found herself drawn to her, sucked in by the easy openness of the barista.

“Well, sorry again.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Kara said, waving a hand dismissively, before glancing down at her wristwatch and reaching out to give Lena’s arm a quick squeeze, “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

It wasn’t so much a question, and Lena found herself staring after Kara as she watched the blonde rush off, books clutched to her chest as she found herself embarrassed yet elated by their clumsy encounter. And as she watched, Kara looked back, giving Lena a small wave and tripping over an uneven paving stone, her sheepish laughter drifting towards Lena, who bit back a smile.

Turning around, Lena slowly walked the rest of the way back to her apartment, wrapped up in her thoughts and daydreams. She’d never liked anyone enough to _daydream _about them, but she’d been smitten with Kara ever since Sam had dragged her to the coffee shop one day. Lena had thought she was beautiful. 

With a heavy sigh, she shouldered the door to her dorm open and plodded upstairs, fishing her key out of her satchel and unlocking the door. Stepping inside, she shut the door and fell back against it, a yearning in her chest for her silly crush to come to fruition. Not that Lena ever did anything to _try _and ask Kara out - she was far too scared of rejection for that - but she secretly harboured hope that perhaps Kara felt the same way and would ask her instead.

But she didn’t _know _if Kara liked her. It wasn’t like law school, it wasn’t as simple as having a grand jury make the decision for her based on the evidence that Lena presented. There was no objective opinion on the matter, and all too often, Lena found her mind playing the part of defence attorney whenever she tried to petition her case on behalf of herself.

And then it struck her. As she leant against the door, brooding and pining, Lena realised that perhaps she _should _lay it out as if it was a trial. If she could present all the information on a topic in class and come to a conclusion based off of the facts, then why _not _try turning all the facts she had of her and Kara’s interactions into a trial. It might help her figure things out if she looked at it on paper as if it was a mock paper for class.

Feeling a spark of determination, she brewed herself some coffee, threw on a NCU sweater and made a pile of her law textbooks on the coffee table as she opened her laptop. It was nonsense, but it couldn’t hurt to try and look at everything objectively, and it wasn’t like anyone was going to see it anyway. 

With her coffee beside her, Lena had half a dozen books open as she flipped through them, pages and pages soon filled with her cramped handwriting, and her brow was puckered with intense concentration as she recalled snatches of moments in the coffee shop, cataloguing all the smiles Kara had for her, all the times Kara made sure to ask her how her day was, asking her about her weekend or whether she had plans after class. It could’ve been nothing, merely small talk to pass the time as Lena’s coffee was made, but maybe, just _maybe_, it was something more.

“Lena? I’m home,” a voice drifted towards her a long while later as the front door was opened and Sam stepped into the apartment. 

She made a few grumbling comments about the cold weather, dumping a pizza box on the kitchen counter and unwinding the scarf from around her neck. Not looking up, Lena gave Sam a distracted hello, shuffling through the paper that surrounded her as she looked for the right page. 

She was still wearing her sweatpants, her hair messily piled up in a bun on top of her head and a deeply furrowed brow as she puzzled through the fine print on the pages. Lena had decided to pull out her old trial guidelines from last semester, and she had spent the rest of the evening typing away on her laptop as her mind turned over the facts and evidence that she readily had at hand. It was nearing midnight now, and she hadn’t so much as moved for dinner.

“What on _earth _are you doing?” Sam exclaimed, a puzzled look on her face as she gave her friend a mildly amused look, picking the pizza box up again.

“Holding a mock trial.”

_ “Why?”_

“I’m trying to figure out if Kara likes me or not,” Lena absentmindedly mumbled, pushing her glasses up her nose as she peered down at one of the pages she held in her hands. 

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Lena threw her head back, closing her eyes as she leant against the sofa and groaned, the piece of paper fluttering to the floor as confusion and frustration warred inside her. It was _impossible _to tell if she was insane or actually onto something.

Sam frowned as she gingerly stepped over the paper strewn around the living room of their shared apartment, picking her way over to the sofa and collapsing onto it. Turning her head to the side, Lena let her forehead rest against her friend’s knee and let out an exasperated sigh. 

Laughing, Sam reached out and gave her head a gentle pat, sounding amused as she replied. “Has it occurred to you that you could just … I don’t know, ask her? Or tell her how you feel?”

Scoffing, Lena sat upright, turning to give her friend a dour look, _“tell her? _I can’t just _tell _her! That’s for people who take risks. I do _not _take risks.”

“You’re rich! Just ... buy her a bunch of flowers. Ask her out!”

_ “Ask her out? _Are you crazy?”

“Oh Lena,” Sam sighed, “you beautiful idiot. What am I going to do with you?”

“You can help if you’d like,” Lena asked, a slight plea in her voice as she looked up at Sam, giving her a hopeful look with her wide green eyes.

Snorting with laughter, Sam beckoned for one of the abandoned pages and Lena quickly scrambled for some, passing them up to her and reaching for her mug of coffee, grimacing at the lukewarm temperature of it, having been so consumed with her mock trial transcript that she’d forgotten about it. 

They were quiet for a few minutes, the low hum of the TV and the occasional sound of Sam flipping through the pages cutting through the silence, and then Sam started laughing - quietly at first, until she was shaking uncontrollably, laying on her back on the sofa as she covered her face with the pile of paper she held.

“Wait, hang on a second, so … _you’re _the plaintiff? The attorney is … you wanting Kara to like you, the defence attorney is … Kara _not _liking you? Is that right? And then the judge is, what, logic? Rationality? Oh honey, no,” Sam laughed, “you’ve got it bad.”

_ “Thank you,” _Lena snarkily replied, huffing as she reached up to pluck the pieces of paper out of Sam’s hands, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. “It’s completely useless anyway! It’s not helping clear things up at all!”

Shaking her head as she chuckled quietly to herself, Sam picked up a slice of pizza, handing it down to Lena, before picking up her own. She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before tilting her head to the side and glancing down at Lena.

“You know, this isn’t a bad idea though. I mean, it’s batshit crazy, and you might’ve lost it, but … it’s not bad. _But, _if you want this to work, you can’t be _all _of the people. I mean, you’re not the judge, jury and executioner at trials, are you? You need other people to represent the positions.”

“You mean I should recruit people to help?”

“Mhm.”

Lena scoffed, scowling as she bit into her pizza. “I’m not exactly a social butterfly, Sam. I don’t have anyone to ask! And I’m _not _asking strangers. That’ll be humiliating.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Grumbling to herself, Lena shuffled her papers into a neat pile, closed the covers of her textbooks and slowly shut the lid of her laptop, resigning herself to the fact that it wasn’t a closed case. Climbing to her feet, she flopped down beside Sam and stole another slice of pizza, both of them sitting side by side as they stared blankly at the TV, slumped with weariness as the hour grew late.

The next day was Saturday, and Lena had milled around the apartment all morning while Sam had gone to meet Alex for breakfast. Picking up clothes strewn across the apartment she tidied up, did the dishes, made herself some coffee, and was halfway through a bowl of cheerios as she went over what she’d typed up the night before when Sam came back home.

“I’ve found our judge!” Sam announced as she walked into their apartment, her arm wrapped around the shoulders of her friend, a bright smile on her face as she gestured towards a confused looking Alex.

Mouth falling open in surprise, Lena’s eyes widened with horror as she stared at Alex, taking in the bewilderment in her dark eyes as she raised her eyebrows sceptically. Pink cheeked with embarrassment, Lena scowled as she slid down in her seat, only her furrowed brows and high forehead visible over the top of her laptop screen, and Sam let out a quiet laugh, kicking the door shut behind her.

“You’re a pain in my ass, Samantha,” Lena grumbled.

“Oo, full name,” Alex said with amusement, hopping up onto the kitchen counter and reaching for an open box of cereal that Lena hadn’t put away after making breakfast. Digging out a handful, she shoved cheerios into her mouth, raising her eyebrows at Sam, “what did you do?”

“You didn’t even _tell _her!?” Lena spluttered, her face turning redder as she was filled with mortification. 

It was one thing for Sam to enlist Kara’s sister for help in figuring out if Kara liked her, but for Lena to have to be there to witness Alex finding out the news was even _more _embarrassing than her already knowing. Not that Lena had ever really been very good at hiding her flustered crush whenever she went to the coffee shop with Sam and Alex.

Giving her an apologetic look, Sam helplessly shrugged, shedding her coat and pulling two mugs out of the cupboard. Picking up the coffee jug, she eyed it warily before judging it to be recently brewed and still warm enough to drink, before filling the mugs with the dark liquid, filling the room with the rich smell of it. 

“Coffee?” Sam asked, gesturing towards Lena, who climbed to her feet and carried her empty mug into the kitchen.

Once the three of them had fresh cups of coffee, they seated themselves around the small table, Lena wearing a sullen look on her face as she shot Sam a scathing look, while Alex glanced at the two of them expectantly.

“Right, Lena, would you like to go first?” Sam asked, an innocent look on her face as she met Lena’s dirty look. “No?”

“I said I wasn’t asking anyone to do this!” Lena protested.

Holding up a finger, Sam gave her a sheepish look, “well, actually, you said no _strangers. _You already know Alex.”

“Yeah and that’s not going to make things embarrassing at _all.”_

“Can someone _please _tell me why I’ve been dragged here to be a judge? What is it, a law assignment? Do we need to roleplay something?” Alex asked.

Sam smiled brightly as she nodded vigorously, “something like that.”

_ “No!” _Lena exclaimed.

“Oh come _on_, Lena. You’re the one who came up with this idea in the first place.”

Letting out a spluttering laugh, Lena gave Sam an incredulous look, “yeah but no one was supposed to know about it!” 

“Yeah but you need help with it.”

“Help with _what _exactly?” Alex asked.

“So Lena might have a small crush-”

“Sam!”

Lena banged her hand on the table, giving her friend a pointed look, quickly shutting her up as she let out a withering sigh. Her cheeks pink, Lena drank deeply from her cup of coffee, choking on it a moment later as Alex piped up.

“On Kara, yeah, and?”

“Hang on, I didn’ say I-”

Waving aside Lena’s protests as panic washed over her, Alex gave her an amused look. “You didn’t have to. Do you know how many times I’ve caught you mooning over my sister? God, I’ve been tempted to tell her oblivious ass just so she could ask you out and I wouldn’t have to watch you pine over her anymore.”

Sam muffled a laugh and Lena felt her face turn redder. Picking up her coffee, Lena pushed her chair back and climbed to her feet, a scowl furrowing her brow as she wrestled with embarrassment and bristling pride.

“You’re _both _assholes.”

Stalking off to her room, she ignored the chorus of encouragements and apologies that followed after her. Setting her coffee down on her nightstand, she flopped face down on her bed and let out a quiet groan muffled by the bedspread. She hadn’t been that inconspicuous with her crush, but surely Lena hadn’t been _that _bad. Apparently, she had though, because Alex had picked up on it easily enough, and Lena was mortified by it. What if Kara had picked up on it too? Or her sister had accidentally let something slip at some point? Was she being nice to Lena out of pity, so that she could inevitably let her down easily?

There were too many factors, too many possibilities, and Lena muttered angry curses to herself as she sat back up, snatching up her coffee and nearly sloshing it all over the floorboards before she walked back to the door and tore it open. 

Two pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly as she paused in the doorway, drawn up to her full height as she gave them both a haughty look. And then her shoulders sagged and she threw an arm up in a helpless gesture.

“Fine! Whatever, Alex can be the judge.”

“Ha!” Sam said, banging her hand on the table as she smiled brightly, “great! Right, now we just need someone to be the defence attorney.”

“Hang on,” Alex said, waving her hand before Lena could reply, “the judge of what exactly?”

Lena gave her a sheepish smile, holding her hands up in a helpless gesture, “I’m, uh, throwing a mock trial to figure out whether your sister likes me or not.”

Blinking, Alex gave her an expressionless look, before she opened and closed her mouth and pinched the bridge of her nose. Exhaling sharply, she shook her head and then looked up at Lena, a grim look of incredulity on her face.

“Has it occurred to you that that is fucking _insane? _A _trial? _Jesus Christ, just _ask her out!”_

“I said that,” Sam interjected.

“I can’t just _ask her out,” _Lena scoffed, “do you know how embarrassing it’ll be if she says _no?”_

Alex let out a snort of laughter, shaking her head again as she raised her cup of coffee to her lips, mumbling around the rim. “Yeah, because holding a mock trial to figure out a crush isn’t embarrassing at _all.”_

Elbowing her, Sam gave Alex a stern look, before turning to Lena. _“Anyway, _we need a defence attorney. Any ideas?”

Humming in thought, Lena slowly trailed her way back towards the table and lowered herself back down onto her seat. Tapping a finger against her lip, she deliberated for a moment. It was one thing for herself to take up all the positions in her mind, but if they were getting other people, they needed someone who would play the part well, who would echo her doubts without pulling their punches.

“We’re going to want someone who’s going to throw my doubts back in my face. Try and convince me that Kara doesn’t like me back.”

“Well I know just the person then,” Alex snorted, rolling her eyes.

Giving her a suspicious look, Lena narrowed her eyes slightly. “Who?”

Raising her eyebrows playfully, Alex gave her a coy smile. “You just leave that up to me, Luthor.”

It was decided that Sam would be Lena’s attorney, even though Lena argued that she could defend herself. Sam was enjoying herself too much though and insisted, and Lena gave her a withering look before agreeing. Then they decided on a few people they could trust to be the jury. It wasn’t a proper trial or fair judgement without a jury Alex said when Lena tried to object to involving even _more _people. The two girls insisted that they’d only ask people they were friends with, which Lena was grateful for, but still embarrassed at the thought of a hoard of people knowing that she had a secret crush on Kara. It was bad enough that _Alex _knew.

It wasn’t until three days later that they made any progress though. Lena was just leaving her class before lunch and was ambushed outside the classroom, Sam and Alex grabbing her under each arm and frog-marching her down the hallway and into an empty room. Empty save for one person. 

Lounging in a small seat, wearing a polo shirt that was _way _too tight as he tossed a football up into the air and caught it again, was Mike Matthews. He played on the college football team and was known around campus for hosting the best parties at his fraternity, which Lena was ashamed to admit she’d been to on occasion. 

“Tada,” Alex gestured towards him, her tone droll as she hopped up onto a desk, “your defence attorney.”

Raising his hand in a half-hearted wave, Mike nodded in greeting.

“You’re joking, right?” Lena blurted out.

Sam propelled Lena forward with her hands on her shoulders, giving her an encouraging squeeze. “Mike is in the same boat as you.”

“What?”

“Danvers is hot. I’ve been trying to get her to go on a date with me for weeks,” he said, smiling widely as he chewed a piece of gum, tossing the ball up again. “Playing hard to get, of course.”

“Right,” Alex said, giving him a flat look before she looked at Lena and arched an eyebrow, “thoughts?”

Sizing him up, watching the way he leaned too far back in his chair, his languid, cocky movements and the way he gelled his hair back and wore cargo shorts, Lena sniffed disapprovingly. She couldn’t think of anyone who could be further from herself; a perfect opposite to try and tear her down, and to gauge Kara’s potential type. Looking at Alex, and then Sam, Lena gave them a curt nod.

“He’ll do.”

There was a loud curse and a crash as Lena stalked out of the room, a certain football player splayed on the floor, having leaned too far back in his chair, and Lena scoffed as she shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was relying on the likes of _him _to help her figure out Kara’s feelings towards her. Now, she was starting to think that perhaps it was a little bit crazy.

But it was out of her hands now, and over the following week, Sam and Alex amassed a jury of their friends, ranging from Nia Nal, a freshman studying international relations, to James Olsen, an art student in grad school. Lena found any and every excuse to duck out of conversations concerning the trial, her embarrassment never far from the surface these days as it was explained over and over again that she had a crush on Kara. At this rate, Lena thought the entire campus would find out about it.

She had to admit it was fun though, watching Sam pace back and forth, hands behind her back as she echoed back the tidbits of information Lena had given her about her interactions with Kara. It was humorous, more than anything, and they spent most of their nights laughing as Sam tried to explain how three weeks ago Kara had told Lena she liked her glasses when she’d forgotten to take them off after class, a serious look on her face as she spoke to an invisible row of jurors. It was hard to take it seriously when it was such a frivolous thing, but Lena _had _to know how Kara felt about her, and if this was the only way to do it without confronting the barista, she’d take it. 

It took another week to sort everything else, and then on a Saturday afternoon, they made their way to the room they’d agreed upon, commandeering a spacious classroom in the business school building that Sam attended. Except, much to Lena’s mortification, when they reached the classroom and she pushed open the door, it wasn’t as empty as it should’ve been.

Alex was there, arranging tables at the front of the room, with the help of Lucy Lane and Querl Dox, making a place for Alex to sit as the judge at the opposite end of the room, a table for the prosecutor and one for the defence attorney, and a row seats off to the left for the jury. Nia was already there with Winn and James. All of _that _seemed to be going well.

The problem was the tables and chairs that had been claimed by a smattering of students from other areas of the campus. Lena knew some by sight, a few more by name, and some were full-blown strangers, and with a horrified look on her face, she rounded on Sam and pushed her back out into the hallway.

“What is going on?”

“I guess word must’ve spread,” Sam sheepishly said, giving her a helpless shrug.

Spluttering, Lena’s face reddened as embarrassment and annoyance washed over her, and she was about to leave when Mike showed up, giving her a mocking salute with two fingers as he strolled by and pushed the door to the room open.

“See you in court, ladies.”

“Oh it was _him,” _Lena said with accusation in her eyes, narrowing them slightly as she watched the door slowly swing shut, giving them a few seconds of Mike’s slow swagger as he shook hands and clapped shoulders with a few of his friends on his way past. 

Panic welled up inside Lena, as well as mortification and the desperate urge to crawl into a hole and never come back out, and Lena looked up at Sam with wide green eyes. “This is bad. This is a bad idea. You should _not _have talked me into this.”

“Hey, I _told _you this was crazy. I wanted to go with flowers!”

“Everyone goes with flowers!” Lena protested.

“Because it works!” Sam exclaimed, “look, I’d say let’s leave and buy a bunch of roses at the nearest store and try it that way, but it looks like half the campus-” 

She cut off as a few people they neither of them knew walked past, reaching for the door handle to the room, and Sam quickly lunged towards it, slamming it shut as the guy started to open it. Giving them a sweet, innocent smile, Sam shooed them away with a hand.

“Sorry, court is full. Maybe next time.”

Leaning against the door until the group left, muttering beneath their breaths and shooting Lena looks of contempt, Sam stared after them and then pushed off the door, reaching out to grab Lena by the shoulders as she gave her an earnest look.

“Half the campus already knows, so you may as well go ahead with it now. It’ll be fun. You can spin it into a joke.”

“It’s not a _joke,” _Lena scoffed, shrugging out of her grip and crossing her arms over her chest as she scowled, face flushed and clouded by a dark expression. “I really, _really _like her, Sam. I don’t want people to laugh at me.”

“I know, but for what it’s worth, I think she might like you too.”

Chewing on her lip, Lena looked down at the floor, her heart thudding quickly in her chest are her stomach knotted itself uncomfortably as her nerves got the better of her. Letting out a soft sigh, Lena deflated and looked up at Sam, wariness flickering in her eyes, and took in the kind look on her friend’s face. Sam wouldn’t let her embarrass herself on purpose, and besides, Lena just had to sit there and watch this all play out on her behalf. If people already knew, what was the worst that could happen?

“Okay, fine. I’ll give it a go.”

Sam let out a quiet squeal of delight, wrapping Lena in a tight hug and rocking her slightly, before pulling back.

“I promise you I’ll buy the flowers if this doesn’t go the way we planned. I’m not entirely convinced that that asshole,” Sam said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, towards the door, “knows what he’s doing.”

Letting out a snort of laughter, Lena rolled her eyes, “that should make it easy for you, prosecutor.”

Smiling, Sam gave her a gentle nudge, “ready?”

Nodding, Lena strode towards the door with her chin raised and a haughty air about her that made quick work of dismissing the looks thrown her way as she walked down the centre aisle and took a seat at the table on the right. Mike was already lounging in his own chair, and Sam took a seat beside Lena.

Alex was chatting to her girlfriend, Kelly, and gave her a quick kiss, before crossing over to her table and the front, where she sat proudly, shoulders back and a pleased look on her face as she banged her gavel on the table. Lena buried her face in her hand, wondering where they’d even gotten the gavel from, and what other plans they’d concocted on her behalf. This had spiralled into something much bigger than scribbled notes on some paper on the floor of her dorm.

“Court is now in session!” Alex bellowed, earning herself a few laughs before everyone settled down. “We’re here for case, uh … one. Luthor versus the people. Um … so, like, if one of you wants to start …”

Sam shot to her feet, smoothing the blazer she’d insisted on wearing and shuffling a folder and some blank pieces of paper, while Lena gave her a bemused look from her seat.

“Yes, judge, uh, your honour? I’ll go first.”

“Okay, so that’s the prosecution?”

Sighing, Lena buried her face in her hands, shoulders hunched over the table as Sam started pacing back and forth, her and Alex having entirely _too much _fun with this, while everyone watched on with amusement from their various perches around the room. There had to be at least fifty people in the audience, and Lena felt humiliation creep up on her as Sam boldly made an opening statement about Lena’s crush on Kara.

“Now, my … my, ah, plaintiff! My plaintiff has brought this case to court to get to the bottom of her feelings. So, I’m here today to, uh, plead her case to the jury, and ask them to come to a conclusion based on the evidence.”

“Call your first witness,” Alex called out, banging her gavel for the sake of it.

Spinning around to face the jury, Sam pointed at Winn, and curled her finger, beckoning him to his feet. “The prosecution calls Mr Winn Schott to the stand.”

“You can’t call witnesses from the- never mind,” Lena sighed heavily, shaking her head.

Winn climbed to his feet and hesitantly walked across the floor with uncertainty, moving towards the spot Alex pointed to on the left of her table, gesturing with her gavel to get him into position, seeing as they hadn’t managed to scrounge up a podium. Winn toyed with the cuff of his shirt as he looked out at the sea of faces.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, on this borrowed copy of … War and Peace, so help you, God?” Alex asked, checking the title of the thick volume she’d hastily scrounged up, before thumping it heavily on the edge of the table and gesturing for Winn to place his hand on it.

He followed her instructions and somewhat hesitantly swore under oath, before straightening up and waiting expectantly.

“Please state your name for the court.”

“Um, it’s … it’sWinn.”

Sam stepped forward, hands clasped behind her back, and fixed him with a piercing stare. “Mr Schott, you’re best friends with Kara Danvers, right?”

“Yes.”

“Has she ever mentioned my client to you?”

“She has.”

“In what manner?”

His forehead furrowed with bewilderment as he scratched the back of his neck, shrugging slightly. “I mean, she said she comes into the coffee shop she works at all the time.”

“Oh … anything else?”

“They bumped into each other the other week.”

“Okay, Mr Schott, you can, uh, sit back down.”

The sound of chair legs scraping on the floor filled the room with its unnerving sound as Mike slowly climbed to his feet, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he spread his hands.

“Don’t I get a crack at the witness?”

Sam scoffed, rolling her eyes as she walked back over to the desk, sharing a grim look with Lena, before perching on the edge of the table and folding her arms over her chest. They watched with matching dubious expressions on their face as Mike strolled towards the centre of the open floor, hands in his pockets and a wide smile stretching across his face.

“Winn, hey, buddy. How’s it going?”

“Um, okay?”

“So, what you’re saying is, basically, Danvers has never said she has feelings for Luthor, right? Never mentioned a teeny tiny crush?”

Shrugging as Mike threw an arm around his shoulders, both of them facing the room as Mike gestured widely with his hand, Winn looked small and uncomfortable next to the bulk of the football player.

“No?”

Slapping him good-naturedly on the back, Mike spread his hands as he gave the audience a pointed look, before turning to the jury. “I rest my case.”

“Schott, sit down,” Alex scowled, fixing Mike with her dark look, “next witness.”

“The prosecution calls Imra Ardeen to the stand.”

A dark-haired young woman slipped off a table in the audience, a smile playing on her lips as she shot Mike a smug look, arching an eyebrow slightly. She brushed past him as he stood there open-mouthed, struggling to find his voice, and Imra made her way over to Alex’s table, giving her a nod in greeting, as if they knew each other passably well, before setting her palm down on the cover of the book.

“Hang on a second,” Mike protested, spluttering as he stared at Imra with a wounded look of surprise. “That’s not fair.”

“Order in the court!” Alex bellowed, banging the gavel repeatedly, until Mike finally slumped down onto his chair, scowling as he crossed his arms over his chest, face flushed red.

Imra was sworn in with the old copy of _War & Peace _and stood there was a coy look on her face, almost _enjoying _herself as she stood at the front of the room, with Sam pretending to glance at her notes, shuffling them as she dragged out her moment.

“Miss Ardeen, can you please state your relationship to Miss Danvers _and _the defence?”

“That’s not-” Lena quietly called out, before quieting and Sam’s wave.

“Well Kara and I are friends, and Mike is my ex.”

“And how did you meet Kara?”

Imra smiled slightly, raising her eyebrows as her eyes sparkled. “On a blind date.”

“So you would say that she-”

A disturbance near the door interrupted Sam mid-talk as they were flung open, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps, and Lena turned around in her seat to see what all the fuss was about, watching as a whisper turned to quiet laughter and people moved aside as someone forced their way through the small crowd. Lena felt her stomach drop at the sight of familiar blonde hair pulled up into a curly ponytail, a pair of lopsided glasses and a navy apron being hastily tugged off as a noticeably frazzled looking Kara burst into the mock courtroom.

She could almost _feel _the blood drain from her face as she watched Kara struggle out of the apron, her blue eyes wide and determined as she stepped towards the floor, where Lena and her mock lawyers were all hosting the trial. 

“I have new evidence to present to the court!” Kara breathlessly shouted, shoulders squared and chin jutted forward. 

Alex looked mildly surprised to see her sister there, and raised her eyebrows slightly, leaning back in her chair as she played the part of the almighty judge. “Step forward,” she ordered, beckoning Kara onto the floor, while Imra stood off to the side like a spare part.

With that same look of determination in her ocean eyes, Kara walked right over to the table where Lena was sitting, looming over her from across the varnished oak, and she leant down. Warm hand cupping Lena’s cheek, Kara tilted her head back as she moved in closer, their noses gently bumping, and brought her lips down in a firm kiss. 

Caught off guard, Lena stared at her with wide eyes, before her eyelids fluttered closed and she stumbled to her feet, straightening Kara up with her as they kissed across the table. Her hand instinctively went to the back of Kara’s neck, cradling it gently as she pressed her head close, the taste of peppermint gum on her lips and Kara’s lips soft and unyielding against hers.

The sound of a gavel being banged on a desk startled them out of it, and they both sprang apart with flushed cheeks and sheepishly shy smiles, their eyes bright and hearts racing. Looking at each other for a moment, they both wiped at their mouths and pretended to fix their hair, feeling shy and exhilarated, before they glanced over at the table at the front of the room.

From where she lounged in her seat, Alex was smiling smugly, twirling the gavel between nimble fingers as she arched an eyebrow at the flustered young women.

“Well … case closed, I guess.”


End file.
